CIA boss quits over affair

CIA Director David Petraeus, the retired four-star general who oversaw US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has resigned from his position due to an extramarital affair.

"After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair," Petraeus wrote in a letter today to Central Intelligence Agency employees. "Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."

General Petraeus, 60, said President Barack Obama accepted his resignation. The White House staff learned about the resignation and affair on Wednesday.

Major-General David Petraeus on active duty in Iraq in 2004. Photo: Reuters

Petraeus offered his resignation yesterday in a meeting with Mr Obama at the White House, a source said.

Advertisement

"By any measure, he was one of the outstanding general officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challenges," Mr Obama said in a statement. In Iraq and Afghanistan, General Petraeus "helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end."

The president said he wished Petraeus and his wife, Holly, "the very best at this difficult time," according to the statement.

Deputy Director Michael Morell took over as acting director with General Petraeus' departure, Mr Obama said.

The president said he was "completely confident that the CIA will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission".

Petraeus, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, retired from the the Army in 2011 to take the position with the CIA.

Before that, he was the top US commander in Afghanistan.

General Petraeus became well known in Washington circles during his time overseeing and implementing President George W. Bush's 2007 "surge" of US troops in Iraq. Through regular appearances on Capitol Hill, many of which occurred when politicians questioned both the strategy and the conflict, he garnered support among many of them.

The US Senate approved his nomination for CIA director 94-0 in June 2011.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the resignation was "an enormous loss" for the intelligence community and the country.

"I wish President Obama had not accepted this resignation, but I understand and respect the decision," Ms Feinstein said.

"General Petraeus is one of America's most outstanding and distinguished military leaders and a true American patriot," Representative Peter King, a New York Republican and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said.